Trimming Thai Chili Plant

Question

So the plant 3’8” tall. I got it from a family friend and my blossoms aren’t producing pollen. It’s been flowing for since aug 20th so for about 19 days. I’m not seeing any pollen production I’ve tried fans brushes Qtips and even lightly shaking the plant with no fruiting. Should I trim it back so I can fit it under the light bars rather than the grow light? Just not to sure how else to proceed.

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Answer 1

There are a few things that can cause this, but first, it is necessary to know that peppers are self pollinating. They do not require intervention.

Pollen formation will not occur in juvenile pepper plants. They must be fully mature. Most early flowers will drop with no production.

Another thing to consider is watering habits. They must be allowed to dry out, thoroughly, down to about 2 or 3 inches or more between waterings.

Light, and more importantly full spectrum light, is very important. Most LED's on the market do not offer infrared or UV, or most of the colors that a plant needs to survive for that matter. If your light does not contain, at least, 9 bands of light spectrum then it is likely not getting all that it needs to be healthy. Most budget LED's contain, only, red and blue. This is not well suited for plants of any kind.

Doing a side by side comparison of a few general store 120 watt equivalent LED white lights next to just blue/red spectrum you will find that just a few of those household LED's will greatly outperform the blue/red fixture, while consuming less energy.

Nutrient ratio will be important, as well. It is best to test your soil for deficiencies, periodically, and amend as the test suggests. Peppers are very hungry plants, requiring constant feeding.

Finally, temperature can dictate fruiting. It all comes down to night time temps. They must remain between, roughly, 60 and 75 degrees to set fruit properly.

This article will offer some more suggestions on the issue:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/pepper/peppers-not-producing.htm

These articles will help you to determine pH imbalances and nutrient imbalances:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/testing-soil.htm

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/garden-how-to/soil-fertilizers/soil-ph-plants.htm

Finally, this article will help you to grow peppers to their potential:

https://www.gardeningknowhow.com/edible/vegetables/pepper/growing-chili-pepper-plants.htm